Esharastr on Nostr: ‘In the photograph, Earth's apparent size is less than a pixel; the planet appears ...

‘In the photograph, Earth's apparent size is less than a pixel; the planet appears as a tiny dot against the vastness of space, among bands of sunlight reflected by the camera. Commissioned by NASA and resulting from the advocacy of astronomer and author Carl Sagan, the photograph was interpreted in Sagan's 1994 book, Pale Blue Dot, as representing humanity's minuscule and ephemeral place amidst the cosmos.

Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977, with the initial purpose of studying the outer Solar System. After fulfilling its primary mission and as it ventured out of the Solar System, the decision to turn its camera around and capture one last image of Earth emerged, in part due to Sagan's proposition.

Seen from about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles)’

I once heard that when you clench your fist, that shows the size of your heart. Not sure if that’s true. My fists are kind of small, so that made me feel fragile and a little sad. I didn’t want a small heart.

Then I saw this picture and realised It’s all about perspective really.